


Communing with the Dead

by Raine_Wynd



Category: Mack Bolan: The Executioner - Various Authors, Stony Man
Genre: Covert Operations, Gen, Gravesite Visit, Grief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 18:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6295591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>T.J. finds April Rose's and Konzaki's graves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Communing with the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written November 17, 1998, this is one of the first fanfics I ever posted online. In the process of posting this here, I've cleaned it up and expanded it slightly. Inspired by a chat session with Doug Wojtowicz, who had a different take on this.

The two white headstones were tucked away in a corner of the Farm, away from prying eyes. It was probably one of the few places a security camera wasn't trained upon, which wasn't to say that it wasn't as secure. Just because he couldn't see an obvious camera didn't mean there wasn't one, hidden. T.J. Hawkins hadn't come across this place before in his exploration of his new home, and he suspected he knew the reason why. It wasn't that he wasn't meant to find the little cemetery; it just was that it wasn't something that was discussed. 

The names — April Rose and Andrzej Konzaki — were unfamiliar to him, but as he read the inscriptions, he realized that whomever rested here had to have been part of the Farm. That much was obvious. The inscriptions weren't much more than names and a date years in the past, but the simple fact that they were buried here said volumes about the importance of the dead. He wondered who they were, what they'd meant to the Farm. Instinctively, T.J. knew that he was standing on sacred ground. He wasn't a believer in ghosts, yet he couldn't shake the shiver of otherworldliness that seemed to dwell in this spot.

A throat cleared, and T.J. barely suppressed the urge to jump. He turned to see his commander standing just behind him. "I see you found them," David McCarter said quietly.

"Who were they?" T.J. wondered. Remembering the security briefing he'd been given earlier, he asked, "Or is that a question I'm not allowed to ask?"

A brief glimmer of smile crossed McCarter's fox-like features. "I was never much for following rules, and I don't think April or Konzaki would mind." He paused, remembering the woman he'd loved like the sister he'd never had, the man he'd considered a brilliant armorer. "They died when the Farm was attacked."

T.J. looked surprised. "With all this security?"

McCarter didn't answer. Clearly, while he was willing to bend the rules for a relative newcomer, there were some details T.J. would never be privy to...which suited him just fine. 

Just when he thought McCarter wouldn't say anything, McCarter said, "There was a mole. It was a coordinated attack. Nobody expected it to happen, so we weren't prepared for it." His voice held bitter knowledge, and T.J. surmised vengeance had been wrought at a cost. "Don't think I need to remind you to be careful of who you trust with what you're doing here."

"After that briefing I got this morning?" T.J. tried to joke, but it fell flat. "Sorry, sir. I'm liable to crack jokes at the worst times." 

McCarter shot him a look. "But you'll keep your mouth shut otherwise?"

"I wouldn't do this if I didn't understand the gravity of the situation, sir."

McCarter sighed heavily. "Yeah, so you said."

In the terse silence that fell, T.J. said quickly, "So who were these people?"

"April was one of a kind. We all loved her, but Mack and her...they had something special."

T.J. nodded his understanding.

"I watched her once when Mack was on a mission, and she was giving him information about his target. The moment the communication was severed, you could tell she was worried, but she tried not to let it show when she talked to him. She had control, but she wasn't cold, just that damned good at her job. Never tried to mother us, either. Just made sure we had what we needed when we needed it, and if we needed a hug, she'd be the first to offer it. She cared." McCarter took a deep breath. It had been years since April's death, and he realized abruptly that he hadn't been by her grave or Konzaki's in a very long time. Seeing it again brought the wave of emotion flooding back. If he closed his eyes, he could still see the Farm as it had been that fateful day, still remember the mission to the Soviet Union that had followed, and Mack's cold rage....

"She was the Farm's first mission controller. Konzaki was the armorer. Crazy genius, too — Ironman lent me one of the machine guns Konzaki had customized when we were both down on the range, burning off some boredom, and it worked like nothing I'd ever fired. When I first met April and Konzaki, though, I quite honestly didn't think either of them — or this whole setup — could fly." He half-chuckled, remembering the humiliation of being proven wrong by Katz in their first mission briefing and the surprise he'd felt at the slick professionalism of the then-fledging operation, even with the limited resources they'd had at the time. "Don't know what I'd do without this place now."

In a move that surprised T.J., McCarter knelt and touched the cool marble of the headstones, his hand lingering over April's. T.J. barely heard McCarter's next words, and just was able to make them out past the stronger accent that suddenly made itself known. "Konzaki. Cowboy's good, but you, you had the dab hand. Miss you, April. Place just hasn't been the same without you, little sister."

McCarter swallowed past the emotion clouding his throat and rose to his feet. Gruffly, he told T.J., "Come on, there's something Hal wants to show you at the house."

T.J. glanced at the little cemetery. Somehow, he knew he'd be back. Whatever sacrifices these two had made, it was enough to reveal a side of McCarter T.J. hadn't thought the other guy had. He made a mental note to ask the other guys about April and Konzaki; he wanted to know more. With that thought in mind, the newest member of Phoenix Force, and of Stony Man Farm, turned to follow his commander back to the main house. 


End file.
